Racie



GRACIE & BOYD.

Lamp Burner.

Patented May 5; 1868.

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Lctters Patent No. 77,481, dated May 5,1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN. LAMP-BURNERS.

Be it known that we, JoHN G'RAcIn and RoBnRTIH. Born, of the, city of -Pittsburg, in the eounty'ef Allegheny, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Lamps; and we dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description thereof, reference being tolthe accompanying To ALL, WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

drawings, making a part of this specifications/in which' Figure 1 is a vertical section through alamp-burner furnished with our improirements, and-the lamp or'oil reservoir to which it is attached, and v v I I Figure 2 is a sectional representation of gas-traps attached to the burner.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts. p v

Our improvement in burners for hydrocarbon burning-fluids is designed to render perfectlysafe the use of benzole, napththalin'e, and the most volatil'eof the'products of petroleumgffor illuminating purposes, by the use of a burner which is .equally adapted .to the burning of the heavierdescriptions of carbon oil, and also to' secure a more perfect control of the supply of air to the flame in such manner as to effect the consumption of all or most all of the carbon and gas which are evol'red, and a large amoudtof which frequently escapes uncon" sumed, in consequence of the defective construction of the burner used.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct. and use our improved burner, wewill proceed to explain our invention.

The great danger attending the usc'of benz'in'e' and other light hydrocarbons for burning in lamps, arises from the ease with which they volatilize'at low temperatures, resulting in the formation of gas or gaseous vapor in the fluid-chamber or globe of the lamp,'which gas, escaping and becoming mixed with atmospheric air, forms a highly-explosive mixture, Were it not for thisdifliculty, these light hydrocarbonswould'afi'ord the'most' desirable fluids for burning, as they give a whiter and more brilliant light than the carbon-oil which has been deprived ofits more volatile ingredients. It, therefore, we can furnisha safety-burner whichshall=render these light burning-fluids innon'ious, we efiect-amost important saving, by utilizing what is now a waste product.

In "order to secure the desired object, 'we pr'evcntthe escape of gas up the wick-tube of the lnmp,-an'd (1911-. duct the gas into a small reservoir, from whichit passes througha fine aperture, too-small for thedownward passage of fire,) to the flame ofthe lamp at the top of the wick, where it is at once consumed in a'manner to increase the volume eflight-giving flame.

The burner-frame is of the shape shown in fig. 1, the upper part, a, being shaped like the cone of the ordinary burner, and the lower part, 6, being considerably enlarged in diameter, and shaped like the cup of an acorn. In the lower part of the burner-frame is aseries of large apertures,-c,for the admission of air. Inside of-the'burner-framc is apartition, 13, extending nll round from the base'of the cone, a, or'upper part of the burner-framc, to the'neck of the burner-frame. This partition is curved in a directionopposite to the lower part of the burner-frame, so as to formah annular cavity, e. This partition'd-is perforated with a mum-- ber of holes, 1', much smaller than the apertures c in the outer part of the frames; The perforated partition (Z is shaped :tiid constructed like the lower part of the ordinary burner-frame. Inside of the outer b urner frame, 6, is a circular plate, h, which fits closelyto the inner surface of the burner-frame, Zr, and is furnished with apertures corresponding in size and position with th e'apertures a. This plate '7: has a'button, g, projecting through a slot in the burner-frame b, by which it may be pushed round in the hurner-framefar enoughto close the apertures c in the but'nerd'raine 6, thus serving as a register to open or close the apertures c wholly or partially, and thus regulate the current of air admitted into the interior of the burner. The cone Q is trunouted, the top or apex,f, being cutoff, and is attached to the crown-piece k, which holds the chimney, while the lower portion, a, of the cone, forms apart of the burner-frame, as before described. Around the top of the truncated portion of the. cone is a flangeor annulus, Z, which serves as a ledge toeupport the crown-piece k and chimney, the crown-piece bein'gpivoted to the ledge or flange Zby a pin, it. 13y this arrangement the top of the wick is reached-for the purpose of'trimming the wick or lightingv the lamp, by turning the crownpiece on its pivot '17 The wick-tube m passes'perpendic ularly through the centre of the burner-frame, in the ordinary way, but instead of terminating at the neck oi the lamp,.as is usual, it extends downward to or nearly to the bottom of the globe or oil-receptacle o f the 'larhp,so that its lower extremity is always covered with oil when the lamp. is in use, thus forming a seal, which prevents the flow or, escape of gas from the globe up through the jVi'ck tube. p I I So much of the wick-tube mas is contained in the globe of'the lamp may be made wholly or'in part of fine wire gauze." The'lower end of the tube m may be made smaller, as shown at z, or its month, 2, may be covered with fine wire gauze,-to prevent the downward passage of the wick. Thus made, the-oil cannot be burned out so as te-leave the lower end, 2, of: the tube m uncovered, whereby a-perfect hydraulic seal is secured. p

At theba'so' of thescrew-nechp, being the bottom of the hurnehframe, is a diaphragm, g, which is furnished with: one o r t'nore openings, 7*, covered witlrwire gauze, or made of perforations, fine enough to prevent the passage of flame. ,.-In place'of these gauze-covered openings, sm'all traps, 8, shown in' fig. 2, may be.sub-

stituted, which, filled with oil .or ,other'fiuid, will allow the egress of gas and the ingress of air ,,but prevent the passageof flame. V v

i y The apertures 'r in the diaphragm :1 open into a small gas-reservoir, t, covered-over at the top by the plate u,but furnished at the sides, all round, with small holes-g,which-permit'the entrance of-air, to mingle with the gas or vapor. Around the wick-tube m, (which passes through the gas-rcservoir 25,) is--a second or outer tube, to, which opens into the gas-reservoir t, beihg attached, at its lower end, to the plate u, on top of the reservoir t. This second or outer tube to isparallel or nearly so with theiwick-tube m, which it surrounds, and terminates at the top of the wiclr-tube m, the space between them at the top being narrow, and the draught of signs hereinafter to be described, preventing'the downward pas'sageof air between them, whereby we'avoid all danger of the explosion of the gas in the reservoir 25. Within the reservoint isroom for the spur-wheel, by which the wick is raised or lowered, but whicli to avoid confu'sion, is omitted in the drawing.

By this construction it i's impossible for any gas or gaseous vapor formed in theglobo of the lamp by the volatilization of the burning-fluid, to escape into .the'cavity of the burner-frame, or into the chimney of the lanrp, and, explode. Any gas or vaporthus generated must pass through the openings 1' in the diaphragmp, into the reservoir t, whence it is carried, by the current of air entering through the holes 11, up thetube to,

around the wick-tube m, and is burned os it escapes at the top of the tube, around the top of the wick. Thisconstant current of cold air passing through the reservoir t, and through the tube to, around the wick-tube m; serves to keep the latter cool,- and thus prevents thelower portion, m",-whic h enters the globe of the lamp, becomingso hot as to vaporize the burning-fluid. I

A fruitful source of annoyance in carbon-oil lamps is the weeping OfIO il from the top of the wick, which, running do wn the wick-tube, collects in the bottom.of'theburner-frame, and when the lahip is lit, this oil,vnporizing, creates a gas-which causes the light to flicker. This' is obviated by the use of the outer tube 20, surrounding the wick-tube 'm. The oil whichweeps from the wick runs down inside the tubeW, and passes into theglobe of the-lamp, through the holes 1' r.

The small openihgs in thepartiticn d of the burner-frame are necessary togive a'sufiicient velocity to the current of airwhich enters the burner-frame under the cone,'l)ut they ali'crd no-means of regulating the'quantity of air, so that unless thewick is at a particular height, the lamp will smoke, causing a disagreeable smell, but by use of the annular space a, and the register '71,, the quantity of air canbe adjusted so that the carbon and gas will all berconsumed. I

Having thus'described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tdsecureby Letters Patent, is

V '1. 'A wiclr-tube, m m, partially closed at its lower end by an indentation, z, or other equivalent device, substantially as and for the purposes above set forth.

' 2., An opening or openings leading from the globe or oil-receptacle of a lamp to the inside of the burner, each opening being covered with wire gauze, finely-perforated plate, or provided with a gas-trap, and arranged within the burner, subst'antiallyias and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof, we, the'said JOHN GRACIE and Rom-111T H. BOYD, have hereunto set our hands.

' JOHN GR-ACIE, ROBERT H. BOYD. Witnesses:

Geo. H. Cnnrsrr, W. F. GRAHAM. 

